Woman (57) sentenced to 10 years for theft at north shopping centre

A 57-year-old woman is on the verge of being declared a habitual criminal after she was sentenced to 10 years of direct imprisonment for shoplifting leggings at a north shopping centre.

The Pretoria North Regional Court sentenced Desiree Williams, originally from Cape Town to 10 years’ imprisonment for theft after being convicted of theft of items amounting to R798.40 from Cotton-On retail store on October 25, 2021.

NPA North Gauteng Regional spokesperson Lumka Mahanjana said, “Williams confessed and pleaded guilty in court to the charge of theft”.

Mahanjana said the woman told the court that on September 25, 2021, she went to Cotton-On in Montana and intentionally stole two pairs of leggings valued at R798.40.”

She said Williams went to the fitting room to check if the elastic garments were the correct size.

“She put them in her bag intending to leave the store without paying for them. When she was walking out the door, the store manager stopped her and called her to the back office and searched her bag.”

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Mahanjana said the items were found and police were called in. Williams was arrested and had been in custody since.

She said the prosecutor Rabia Ebrahim told the court that it was in the interest of society to impose a harsh sentence as Williams continued to commit the same offence since 1981 and no sentence had rehabilitated her.

Ebrahim told the court that Williams had 34 previous convictions for theft, 29 of those are older than 10 years while five were committed between 2011 and 2020 and she is still awaiting trial for 31 pending cases. Therefore, “if the court gives her a lenient sentence, chances are she will commit the same offence again”.

Ebrahim asked the court to declare Williams a habitual criminal in terms of Section 286 of the Criminal Procedure Act.

The court, however, warned Williams that should she be convicted of another offence she may be declared a habitual criminal.

Mahanjana said the NPA welcomed the sentence and thanked the investigating officer of the Sinoville police station for gathering evidence that led to the conviction and sentencing.

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